Sacrifice
by AmaryllisWhimsy
Summary: Even the Fourth Hokage, one of the most feared ninja in all the world, had nightmares that tore viciously at his mind. And like any one else, he had fears that he kept close to his heart, afraid that exposing them would make them come true.


**Just another one-shot, this one featuring Minato. I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, however, the writing is my own.**

**OooOooO**

To look at him, no one would have guessed that Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage and one of the most feared ninja in all the world sometimes couldn't sleep at night because of the nightmares that plagued him. His smiling, easy going face hid beneath it an ocean of dread that would viciously haunt his nights, circling his dreams. Only his wife knew of the way he would wake, yelling and panting with tears rolling down his face.

And even she did not know what horrors roamed his nightmares. She could only press a cool hand to his cheek, near tears herself, telling him that he was safe, that he was fine, that everything was okay. Kushina was the one person in all the world who could calm him, who understood him completely, and yet he still could not form the words explaining that it wasn't him that he was worried about.

She was there, in his dreams, as beautiful and vivid as if she had actually stepped through the waking world to the next. Her fighting eyes. Her fists raised. And then always her blood hot on his face, darker than her hair and gushing in torrents he could neither stop nor slow down. Her in his arms, choking on it, and him holding her with nothing to do but scream out her name over and over. Once, on a particularly fiendish night, he dreamed that she had succumbed to Rin's fate, his hand though her chest. He dreamed that he could feel her heart slowing down at his finger tips.

How could he tell that to her? How? How could he possibly explain?

It was enough that she was still there when he woke up.

When he became Hokage, Minato had to think long and hard about what it meant to be a good one. He also thought hard on what it meant to be a good husband, and father too. And he realized that he would have to sacrifice something. He couldn't be all three. The only thing he didn't know is which it would be when it came down to choosing.

In the end, what would he be known for?

The rain hummed softly against his window, and he stared outside watching the water splash against the glass. The night seemed even blacker than usual, the moon and stars hidden behind the clouds. The somber atmosphere did little to improve his mood.

"Minato."

Minato glanced down at his wife, who he had formerly thought asleep. Even now, laying on her side, her red hair spread out all around her, he wouldn't have been able to guess she was awake had she not spoken.

"Minato, are you listening to me?" The edge to her voice made him hasten his reply.

"Yes."

"Go to sleep."

He laughed softly, and affectionately tugged at a strand of her hair.

"What's so funny?" She demanded, sounding formidable even with her voice tired and blurred. She turned to face him, and he could see a small smile had appeared on her face.

"Just that I could die, and you'd still be ordering me around. That's all."

"Hmph," Kushina sat up, tilting her head to one side, like she always did when mischief struck her fancy. "If you went and died on me, I'd order you back to life just so I could kill you myself."

"And I'll always try my best to obey."

She placed her hand on his chest, fingers resting at his collar bone. The gesture was tough and tender all at once, and the small glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes did not escape his notice, although he did not comment on them.

"You'd better," she whispered.

There would come a time in the future, although not far into the future, that Minato would remember this night. It would be a time that his world would be torn from him, layer by layer stripped away until he felt bare. It was the moment that he had dreaded for so long, and it was the moment that he did what he had previously thought impossible.

A good Hokage. A good husband. And a good father, too. Although, he wouldn't remember it that way, and it would ultimately cost him his life.

As the world simultaneously dimmed and became brighter, the words surrounded him. Quiet, at first, but then louder.

"I can't see us being anything but happy."

"The only future I want is one with you in it."

"Minato, you're going to be a father."

"I name you fourth Hokage."

"You'd better."

"_Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else."_

_-Mitch Albom._

**OooOooO**

**I would truly appreciate it if you reviewed! Thank you for reading!**


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